# Beavis and Butt-Head Blamed for Child Death

> A 1993 fire killed a girl after her brother imitated Beavis and Butt-Head's fire jokes.
- Title: Beavis and Butt-Head Blamed for Child Death · VICE | Shortify
- Summary: A 1993 fire killed a girl after her brother imitated Beavis and Butt-Head's fire jokes. Beavis and Butt-Head creator Mike Judge denied responsibility for a…
- Keywords: beavis and butt-head, mike judge, mtv, austin messner, jessica matthews, fire, 1993, ohio, news, culture, Beavis, Butt-Head
- Source: VICE — https://vice.com/en/article/the-tragic-reason-mtv-had-to-censor-beavis-and-butt-head-in-1993
- Author: Tony Alpsen
- Published: 2026-10-17T23:00:40+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: beavis and butt-head, mike judge, mtv, austin messner, jessica matthews, fire, 1993, ohio, news, culture
## Child Fire Tragedy
Five-year-old Austin Messner accidentally burned down his mobile home in Moraine, Ohio, killing his two-year-old sister Jessica Matthews.
## Mother Blames Show
Austin's mother Darcy Burk blamed Beavis and Butt-Head for inspiring the fire after he imitated the characters' fire jokes.
## MTV Response
MTV moved the show to a later time slot and removed fire references from earlier episodes to prevent children from seeing it.
## Creator Denies Blame
Mike Judge denied responsibility for the fire, stating the show was not seen in the trailer park where the fire occurred.

> First of all, I don’t agree with any of that [kind of criticism] and I don’t take any responsibility for any of it at all
## Key takeaway

Beavis and Butt-Head creator Mike Judge denied responsibility for a 1993 fire that killed a 2-year-old girl.